Red Cross betters collection

OUR CORRESPONDENT

A whopping 937 units of blood were collected at the Red Cross Bhavan in Sakchi on Wednesday.

Hosted by Indian Red Cross Society (East Singhbhum district branch) to mark World Red Cross Day, the camp, held for the first time at the newly built Bhavan, started from 8am and continued till 5.30pm.

“Records available show that we (Red Cross) have never had such huge collection of blood on a single day anywhere in the eastern region of the country,” said Bijay Kumar Singh, the honorary secretary of the district unit of Indian Red Cross Society.

Inaugurated by East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Himani Pande, also the chairperson of Indian Red Cross Society’s district unit, the event was also saw the presence social worker Surekha Nerurkar, secretary of Jamshedpur Blood Bank Nalini Rammurthy and additional district magistrate (law and order) Ajit Shankar.

Braving the heat, eager donors queued up at the venue. Over 200 volunteers of Indian Red Cross Society also extended their support to make the camp a grand success.

Singh added that regulars apart, many donated blood for the first time.

“Many representatives from corporate houses and NGOs trooped in. But what was most heartening was that many women and girls donated blood, busting a lot of myths in the process and paving way for others,” said Singh.

Around 40 beds were placed for easy access to facilities at the camp. Officials of Tata Steel, Jamshedpur Utilities Services Company and Tata Motors apart from businessmen and industrialists of Adityapur industrial area participated in the daylong camp.

Singh added that the units collected on Wednesday would be preserved at Jamshedpur Blood Bank for transfusion within the next 33 days.

Donors, on their part, also thanked Indian Red Cross Society for hosting the mega camp.

“I have been a regular donor for the last three years at this annual camp, but this year, seeing the magnitude of people really made my day. Apart from this annual camp, the society also hosts monthly camps at Jamshedpur Blood Bank,” said Arun Kumar, a donor.

Last year, 866 units were collected from the camp organised at Chambers’ Bhavan, Bistupur.